I’m constantly on the hunt for easy, high-protein snacks for my kids and for myself. There was a phase when I was crushing RX Bars every day – specifically the black chocolate and sea salt bars. Ya, these ones. The only problem I have with this is that they are very expensive. HA! So, I figured I’d try to make some Copycat RX Bars and see how close I could get and maybe save a little coin in the process.

Luckily, the bars conveniently print the recipe on the label. The bars are basically a mix of dates, nuts, chocolate, and egg whites for protein.

The RX Bars that I’ve fallen for tend to run about $2/bar in the store. So if I have one for an after-workout snack and give my kids one to split, that’s $4 in snacks!

So, let’s see if we can improve!

What are RX Bars?

If you aren’t familiar with RX Bars, they are a specific brand of protein bar that is made with whole ingredients. They don’t have a lot of fillers or strange ingredients. 

I picked them for a base for my homemade protein bars because I could easily read and understand the ingredients and the flavor profiles were easy to duplicate. 

The homemade version of these RX Bars checks a lot of dietary boxes as well. They are gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free. They are a great source of protein and good, healthy fats as well. 

What Nuts to use for RX Bars?

The nice thing about making these is you can use whatever nuts you want really. The wrapper recommends cashews. I used a mix of almonds and cashews.

I decided to process all my nuts so I would have a smoother bar. You could leave some of the nuts in pieces to give a chunkier texture (that’s what RX bars do).

Ground Nuts for RX Bars.

My Big boy food processor is packed away in the depths of my dungeon basement at the moment so I just had this little one to work with. It turned the nuts into a coarse meal rather than a smooth flour. Worked okay, but you could get them finer if you had a better food processor.

The Protein Source: Egg White Protein

The wrapper for the RX Bars lists egg whites as the primary protein ingredient. I thought about trying these with actual egg whites but it would just be too wet of a mixture, which you would then have to bake. UGH.

Egg White Protein for bars.

Instead, I used egg white protein! This mixes easily into the bars. Only downside: EXPENSE. This jar ran me about $30 and was the most expensive thing in the bars by far.

This is a big jar though and I can get 4-5 batches of bars out of it.

I mixed the protein powder with the processed nuts. Looking good.

Dry Stuff Mixed Together for RX Bars.

Finishing the Copycat RX Bars

Next up for these bars: DATES! I love using dates in bars and snacks. They add some great natural sweetness and work as a binder for the bars. Make sure to get fresh ones though that have lots of moisture in them. If you use months-old dates from your pantry, they will probably be on the dry side.

Fresh Dates for bars.

Ideally, you want to pulse the dates and dry stuff together into a paste. I had to do this in a bunch of batches due to my tiny food processor. It still worked though!

My final version was much too dry to stick together but I could tell it just needed a little liquid to get there.

Crumby Mixture for RX Bars.
Crumby.

I stirred in my cocoa powder and then added some almond milk and the dough came together beautifully!

Dough for RX Bars.
Actually delicious.

This was really good at this point!

To finish the Copycat RX Bars, just press the mixture into a baking dish lined with wax paper. Sprinkle liberally with coarse sea salt.

RX Bars

Want an even more economical after-school protein snack option? Try these easy after school protein bars or my S’Mores Energy Balls!

I found these easiest to cut after letting them rest in the fridge for about an hour. Then you can chop them up and wrap them individually in wax paper.

The texture of my homemade protein bars turned out much different than the original RX bars. The original bars have a really smooth consistency with big chunks of nuts while mine were a more even texture. This is actually personal preference. My kids prefer the ones without huge chunks. I liked both.

Also, I added way more salt than in the original because salt = delicious.

Cost Comparison Between Bars

I did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation on these bars and my bars worked out to about $1.40-$1.50/bar. The ingredients in the bars are still pretty pricy! Nuts are expensive, dates are expensive, and egg white protein is REALLY expensive.

If you wanted to get the price down, you could use a different protein powder and a cheaper nut, like peanuts. That would knock a lot off the price.

As-is though, I loved these bars and they were easy to make and would’ve been even easier if I had a big food processor!

Dive in and make some RX Bars!

RX Bars Wrapped Up

Storing the bars for later

While the original RX bars are shelf-stable, the homemade version is not. You should store these in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

You can also wrap tightly and freeze these bars for up to three months. Thaw them on the counter before eating or toss them in your bag to thaw while you are on the go.

Side by side RX Bar Comparison

Copycat RX Bars – Chocolate and Sea Salt

5 from 8 votes
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 15 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
They are so easy to eat on the go and have great nutrition. I thought I would try to make a big batch on my own and they turned out excellent! Try out my homemade Chocolate and Sea Salt RX Bars for a great kid snack or after workout pick-me-up!

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1 ½ cups egg white protein powder
  • 1 pound dried dates
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup almond milk
  • Coarse sea salt, for garnish

Instructions

  • Add nuts to a food processor and pulse until they are in a coarse meal. Mix with egg white protein powder and cocoa powder.
  • Working in a few batches, depending on the size of your food processor, add dates and the dry ingredients to the processor and pulse until it combined. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with all the dates and dried ingredients.
  • The mixture will probably be too dry to stick together on its own. Add almond milk until the mixture just sticks together, probably 1/4 cup.  Mix well and knead the dough to combine.
  • Press dough into a 9×13 pan lined with wax paper. Try to make the bars an even layer. Sprinkle liberally with salt.
  • The bars will be easiest to cut if you let them rest in the fridge for an hour or so.
  • Cut the bars into 15 bars and wrap individually in wax paper.
  • The bars will keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 401mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 32IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Side Dishes, Snack Time
Cuisine: American

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Here are a few other great snack ideas!